Pitch as a component of English prosody

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 662.

To describe the melody of an utterance – it is necessary do describe the relevant pitch levels, pitch ranges, pitch directions and the rate (скорость). The pitch level of intonation group is determined by the pitch of its highest pitched syllable which shows the degree of semantic importance that the speaker gives to this intonation group and also his altitudes and emotions. Most phoneticians distinguish 3 pitch levels (low, mid, high). The pitch range of an utterance is the interval between its highest and lowest pitсhed syllables. The speaker changes his voice range to express different attitude and emotions. These are 3 pitch ranges: wide, normal, narrow. The basic unit used to describe the pitch component is The Tone. There are 2 types of them: kinetic (simple and complex) and static (whether the voice remains unchanged or it changes its direction). The most important from the functional point of view is the terminal tone of an utterance. It has a peculiar character in English because it is extend to the tale. The pitch of the tale depends on the kind of terminal tone. Thus the question “Can you wait for me?” - the last syllables after the Low Rise form the ascending sequence. The terminal tone conveys a certain meaning: F – certainty, completeness; R – uncertainty, indefiniteness; F-R - all sorts of implication, contrast. Significant pitch modifications also occur within the Head. The head patterns of English are classified into 3 types: descending; ascending; level. The prehead is normally pronounced on the low or mid-pitch level. If it is pronounced on a high level it acquires special emphasis (The Rovers Robert?). Various combinations of Prehead, Head and Terminal Tone form numerous melodic structures.